withe

noun

1. A flexible, slender shoot or twig, especially when used as a band or for binding; a withy.

   “It was most ingeniously secured at vacant hours, by a withe twisted in the handle of the door, and stakes set against the window-shutters;[…]”

2. A band of twisted twigs.

   “They deemed it little scathe indeed / That her coarse homespun ragged weed / Fell off from her round arms and lithe / Laid on the door-post, that a withe / Of willows was her only belt; / And each as he gazed at her felt / As some gift had been given him.”

3. An elastic handle to a tool to save the hand from the shock of blows.
4. An iron attachment on one end of a mast or boom, with a ring, through which another mast or boom is rigged out and secured.

   “Some short topgallant masts are rigged with a withe on the after part of the mast-head, through which a sliding-gunter royal-mast is run up, with its heel resting in a step on the topmast cap.”

5. (alt-of, alternative)Alternative spelling of wythe (“single section of bricks one unit thick”).

   “[…] single withe of brick laid flat in common bond reinforced vertically by 8" piers”

   “[…] brick (single withe), one brick (two withes) or a brick-and-a-half thick. At the University of Virginia, Charlottesville , Thomas Jefferson demonstrated beautifully that a single withe of brick was adequate for[…]”

   “[…] single-withe construction using concrete masonry units with the voids on the ends[…]”

   “[…] single-withe, or barrier, wall. Multiple-withe walls are also constructed, and can consist of composite brick-block walls or cavity walls.”

   “[…] single withe of fired brick or stone masonry, referred to in Turkish as[…]”

6. (alt-of, alternative)Alternative spelling of wythe (“partition between flues in a chimney”).

   “... chimney space, and the joints of any two adjoining sets of flue linings shall be offset at least 7 inches. When there are more than two flues in a chimney, each third flue shall be separated from the others by a withe or division[…]”

   “... flue intended for a heating furnace or boiler connection, or for a fireplace, shall be separated from other flues by such a withe. In hollow tile chimneys the withe may be of tile.”

   “... flues should be separated by a 4-inch-wide brick spacer (withe) between them (fig. 170, A). The greater the difference in temperature between chimney gases and outside atmosphere, the better the draft.”

verb

1. (transitive)To bind with withes.

   “As soon as the body of Deerslayer was withed in bark sufficiently to create a lively sense of helplessness, he was literally carried to a young tree, and bound against it, in a way that effectually prevented it from moving,”

   “These frames are usually constructed of rough trees tightly withed and wedged together.”

   “The strips are first laid on the back and two sides of the shanty, and are kept smooth and in proper position by poles laid across them and withed down to the frame.”

   “If it were withed by the aborigine it would have formed an effective and dangerous weapon, either in the chase of the large beasts with which he was contemporary or in war against his human enemies.”

2. (transitive)To beat with withes.

   “Question. Did you hear of the circumstances of William Davis having been whipped on the 5th day of December, the day before the cutting took place? Answer Yes, sir; I did that evening, when he came home. Q. Did you examine where he had been withed? A. Yes, sir.”

   “"He'll trim you up for tossing Suse that note," said Am Bayne to his own companion. / "Ye-es, and you'll get a withing, too," declared the other.”

   “After I was on they commenced withing my horse to make him go faster, but I reined him up; ... They then commenced withing me around the shoulders, saying it would have a better effect than to whip the horse.”